A Necessary Death

In elementary school grammar, they teach us that personification is when we give an inanimate object, or a concept, human-like characteristics. I could say, “The sun smiled down on me as I walked in the park.” Most of us would agree that the sun doesn’t have a face. I wonder if it does, though. I bet he would be hot ;) But, I suppose that’s besides the point. We have always been taught that we are the ones that have the power to give things life. And that got me thinking… why isn’t there an opposite to personification? Why don’t we ever consider the fact that there are some things in our lives that are unfruitful, that need to be killed?

Or, at the very least, stripped of their power?

A thought crossed my mind today that I’m almost afraid to share, but I’ll give it to you all anyways. When people ask me why I walk with the cane, or why I took the semester off, or even why I’m so tired, my response is that “the fibromyalgia has been kicking my butt lately.” With walking as a challenge, I’m almost always asking one of my best friends for a ride somewhere… and anyone who knows me well knows that I am not a big fan of asking for help. So I told myself this evening that, “this disease has robbed me of my independence, and self-sufficiency.”

I guess the second thought struck a cord with my spirit, and I realized that I’m unintentionally personifying this disease. I have given it legs to kick me with. I have given it arms, and power, and strength to rob me with. Essentially, I have given it life to kill me with.

Shouldn't I be the one to kill it? Why does the disease have a hold on me?

And here I thought that I was the one with the power...

In Genesis 1:28, after God created Adam and Eve, He spoke this word to them:

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.

Now, if God has given us dominion over every living thing upon the face of the earth, what sense does it make to allow an inanimate object (like money) or an emotion (like feelings of depression or inadequacy) or in my case, a physical ailment (like fibromyalgia) to have a hold on us? Why do we let these things consume us? Why do they dictate the way we think, talk, and perceive the world? Why do they have dominion and power over us?

The year is fast spent. We are already in the second month of 2013. Each of us walked into the year with new hope, new expectations, and new desires. However, we will never have the abundant life that we so desire this year if we continue to give life to issues from previous years, and allow them to consume us.

Thanks be to God, I’ve never had to have wisdom teeth removed, but I believe I have a basic understanding of why others (like my brother) needed to have them taken out. You see, nobody is born  with wisdom teeth. But as we grow, they grow with us. In some people, they cause severe pain. In others, they take up a space that doesn’t belong to them. And in some people, they don’t really seem to be causing a problem, but there is a HUGE chance that they will in the future. So what do we do with wisdom teeth?

Remove them.

I pray that God would reveal to you whatever things need to be killed, removed, or stripped of power in your life. I pray that the removal of this dead weight would free us up to achieve our full potential this year and beyond. In the mighty name of Jesus, I commit the reader to Your hands. Amen.

Proverbs 18:21- Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.